December 23rd, 2022, Janice Fernandes
In this piece, we round-up the key trends and insights our data uncovered in the media, content and agencies world in 2022.
Evolution of media consumption
The pandemic upended a lot of routines and gave rise to increased consumption of streaming platforms and interest in podcasts, while reducing traditional consumption like listening to the radio and TV news, among other things.
YouGov’s Global Media Consumption Report for 2022 explores this industry with specific, deep-dive custom research. It examines 17 different global markets: looking at everything from how consumers watch, listen and read to which social channels they use for media consumption.
A few takeaways from the international study include:
- Intent to stream content is still higher than intent to watch linear TV
- Music streaming is driving audio consumption with nearly 20% of global consumers saying they’ll listen to music online more often.
- Podcasts have also attracted more listeners in the past three years – Britain (up nine percentage points) and the United States (eight percentage points)
- Print media continues to see a year-on-year decrease in readership, especially among 18-24-year-olds (19%), while social media is the top source of news for Gen Z (45%).
Inflation and changes in subscription spends
Global consumers have been increasingly concerned about the rising cost of living, with around two-thirds (66%) saying they’ve cancelled streaming subscriptions in the last six month to cut down on expenses. In Britain, where the current inflation rate is 11.1%, 80% of consumers said that lowering expenses is their reason for discontinuing streaming subscriptions. Read the full story on the reasons users from 18 different markets are not renewing streaming subscriptions.
Over a third of global consumers (36%) are also willing to watch more ads than they already do if it means a reduced monthly bill, as over a quarter say they intend to spend less on streaming services this year (28%).
YouGov has also looked at consumer opinion on sharing subscription logins where 42% of Americans and 35% of Britons think video and music streaming services should not care if a user chooses to share their credentials.
Which brands won 2022?
Every year, YouGov measures the top performing brands around the world in our Best Brand Rankings 2022.
Here are the highlights from our analysis of the top brands this year.
Globally, technology brands continue to dominate as Samsung, Google, YouTube, Netflix and WhatsApp were the most positively perceived brands, proving their worth for the second year running. Get the full list of global winners here.
Band-Aid and Dawn topped the list of Best Brands in the US, while HBO Max and Nature Made showed the most improvement and have the most momentum going into 2023. See how the top performing US brands did it.
Marks & Spencer and Samsung led the Best Brand Rankings in the UK, with Disney+ and Tesco Clubcard being most improved brands over the last year. Explore the full list of UK’s Most Improved Brands here.
Unlocking the metaverse
The world has heard more and more about the metaverse this year, as technologists seek to pitch it as an emerging technology set to revolutionize the future. So, we unlocked it in a report detailing the top reasons people are entering the metaverse, which brands resonate most, the activities, attitudes, and desires driving current and potential users into the metaverse, among others.
There's broad awareness of the metaverse as a concept in both UK (57%) and US (55%), but just a portion of metaverse-aware consumers in the UK (37%) say they can confidently describe the concept to others. Consumers in the US are slightly more confident in describing it (45%). Read the full story on how Americans and Britons are defining and thinking about the metaverse.
As it stands now, the metaverse is a collection of virtual realities, with various big players building their own vision of metaverse worlds or building a presence within someone else’s. Among the top activities people would like to do in the metaverse, virtual travel takes the top spot – US (22%) and UK (21%) - followed by socializing and entertainment.
Download YouGov's latest report to start understanding your metaverse audience.
Advertising connection with consumers
Over the years, marketers have had to alter their ways of advertising to reach consumers, with digital now taking a commanding lead. But whatever channel they use, engagement is marketers’ stock-in-trade. Earlier in the year nearly half the global population (50%) said advertising isn’t as interesting as it used to be, while consumers are more likely to prefer a brand if their advertisement includes a moral message. American (58%) and British (47%) consumers are more likely to prefer brands when they support a social cause through their ads.
The beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war saw many consumers supporting brands that publicly responded to the conflict. A majority wanted brands to donate money/supplies to aid humanitarian efforts in Ukraine (71%) and to stop doing business in Russia (58%). Read the full story on how global consumers want brands to respond to the Ukraine/Russia conflict.
We see that even within digital advertising, marketers are facing various challenges since not all types of digital advertising models are equal in the eyes of consumers. Considering the expanded privacy controls pitched to consumers, we conducted a survey in the UK. Three-quarters of British adults (76%) say they mostly ignore display ads, with more than half (55%) saying they will not continue reading if there are too many ads on the page.
The most popular TV shows and movies
Through YouGov Signal we track online conversation, viewership stats, and every other key metric for thousands of brands, products, movies and TV shows.
Looking at the TV shows and movies creating the most excitement in December:
- The final episode of The White Lotus on HBO Max drew record high viewership for the drama series, with 4.1 million viewers in the US. In the last week it came in second of all TV shows with an Appetite score of 96.13.
- In Great Britain, Harry & Meghan debuted as the #1 Netflix series and placed in the top 10 across 85 markets. Data from YouGov Signal reveals that while the show’s Appetite score is high at 98.41, online conversation with negative sentiment (45%) outweighs the positive sentiment (36%).
- Brendan Fraser’s triumphant return to cinema saw The Whale garner a considerable amount of positive sentiment (64%). Earlier in the week, Willow on Disney+ saw an Appetite score of 94.68, up by 13.95 points.
For more insights from YouGov Signal, check out our viewership and performance insights
What does the future of media consumption look like?
The continued impact of the pandemic, war in Ukraine and current economic crisis has globally influenced media consumption. While COVID restrictions started to ease in 2022, some people were still skeptical of participating in outdoor activities. So, while streaming services saw a rise in consumption, in-person experiences registered the highest decline in the last 12 months. However, data shows this gap will close in the next 12 months. The likelihood of consumers attending live concerts and sporting events increased from -16% to -1% and watching movies in cinemas increased from -22% to -5%.
- The path ahead for subscription services
- Gen Z loyalty challenge
- Sustainability in advertising.
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Photo on Pexels by Eren Li